AQIP Frequently Asked Questions

Blending continuous quality improvement
with college and university accreditation.

The next step in our innovative journey.

What is accreditation?
Evaluation of an entire educational organization as a whole to ensure that standards are maintained that qualify the graduates for admission to higher or more specialized institutions or for professional practice.

What is AQIP?
AQIP is the Academic Quality Improvement Program. It is a regional accreditation process through the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

AQIP focuses on future and continuous work.

Why is regional accreditation important?
Regional accreditation assures students, families, and external constituents that an institution offers a quality education.

What is my role in the accreditation process?
Every member of the college is important in the review process. Everyone makes a difference.

The AQIP process requires the participation of all staff.

How will this accreditation process be different than the accreditation process used in the past?
Previously, accreditation involved comprehensive visits from accrediting teams, self-study reports, focused visits and progress reports.

Under AQIP, the focus is continuous improvement, aligning of processes and procedures, action projects, and quality initiatives.

What criteria are used for evaluating the college with the AQIP model?
AQIP helps the college focus on nine key areas (categories):

Helping students learn
Achieving other distinctive objectives
Understanding students’ and stakeholders’ needs
Valuing people
Leading and communicating
Supporting institutional operations
Measuring organizational effectiveness
Planning for continuous improvement
Building collaborative relationships

Where can I get more information?
Visit http://www.AQIP.org

Select Links, then select Links to Quality Web sites hosted by AQIP schools
Choose other links from the home page to answer questions

For additional information, contact Barb Williams, AQIP Coordinator.

AQIP

AQIP Frequently Asked Questions

Blending continuous quality improvement with college and university accreditation.

Blending continuous quality improvement
with college and university accreditation.